NGD

artiebear

Came across this on my travels last week. TBH I was a bit guitared out after gigging for 10 days and the strings were a bit dead to say the least. It was one of those that I just kept thinking about over the last few days thinking that there was something in there to be brought out. I ended up going back and getting it today. Got it home , cleaned , new strings and a truss rod tweak, its singing loud and clear as it settles in. It's a Bourgeois Soloist with an Italian spruce top and Macassar ebony back and sides. It reminds me a bit of a couple of Koa back and sides guitars I have in that it needs a bit of waking up to get going but never having had a Macassar ebony guitar, I like what it does so far. As a fingerstlye guitar it sound big, rich and bold with a lot of sustain. The higher notes are fat and round, always a good sign. Even though it was a used guitar, it needs a good solid period of playing in. I've got some soundtrack work on next week and am looking forward to hearing how it sounds . 

http://i.imgur.com/anM5Mkm.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/z6Z40xB.jpg

VimFuego

stunning, absolutely stunning

TimmyO

Fuck.

That looks stunning 

richardhomer

Wow....

Moe_Zambeek

Very pretty! 

artiebear

just opened the second bottle of red, strings have settled in a bit, bloody loving it so far ( the guitar that is, though the wine is decent )

Lewy

Beautiful! What are Italian spruce's properties compared to sitka or adi? I've never tried a guitar with it before.

AliGorie

ah artie, someones seen sense to get a 'Soloist' - superb guitars. I played one, same spec - and if I didn't already have a Bourgie JOM I'd have thought long 'n hard about getting that guitar.
I posted some info 'n history on how this guitar came about if your interested -
https://bourgeoisguitars.net/about/the-story-of-the-soloist/
just shows how the work of a few dedicated people can have such an influence - including putting THAT cutaway on Martins + much more.
happy pickin


 

artiebear

Lewy said:

Beautiful! What are Italian spruce's properties compared to sitka or adi? I've never tried a guitar with it before.

Certainly sweeter than sitka or adirondack. Louder and more headroom than Englemann ? awful to try to describe as you know. 

artiebear

AliGorie said:

ah artie, someones seen sense to get a 'Soloist' - superb guitars. I played one, same spec - and if I didn't already have a Bourgie JOM I'd have thought long 'n hard about getting that guitar.
I posted some info 'n history on how this guitar came about if your interested -
https://bourgeoisguitars.net/about/the-story-of-the-soloist/
just shows how the work of a few dedicated people can have such an influence - including putting THAT cutaway on Martins + much more.
happy pickin


 

I lusted after those early Schoenbergs back in the day. You and I both remember when acoustic building was stuck between heavily built and limited model designation ( Martin 1980's .....no OM , 000 production guitars ! ) and a small community of builders fighting against an era of synths and pointy strats. I grew up playing finger style acoustic and the the first time I saw a Shoeneberg cutaway I wanted to sell all I owned to get one, couldn't bloody find one


Since then Ive had much admiration for Dana Bourgeois place in the scheme of modern acoustic guitar design /building.  I  know about his design/consultancy work for others......Pantheon was the right option. 

AliGorie

Lewy said:

Beautiful! What are Italian spruce's properties compared to sitka or adi? I've never tried a guitar with it before.

Lewy, the whole idea that this (spruce) top vs that top will produce xy or z result comes mainly from  factory produced guitars - even workshop guitars, it comes from having a pile of tops and picking the next one from the pile and treating it exactly the same as the last - all thicknessed and braced to a standard specification.
I've posted John Grevens vids before - watch and consider the implications for a workshop that treats soundboard / bracing the way Bourgeois does -
links -







 

artiebear

I would take the point about it being the builder involved who gets the voicing of  the guitar out there, but there is definitely and inherent tonal difference between the spruces from immediate/bright to softer/complex and all combinations available.